Catch me, I’m falling

Butterflies, weak knees, uncontrollable smiling when her name came up on my phone…Danger! Danger! The Captain is in love…

I’m often asked what started my health and fitness journey…Truth be told, I fell for someone who didn’t catch me. Ouch. Whether I was physically too heavy or emotionally too heavy, it just didn’t work out and the fairytale ended before it began. Before I go on, let me make this clear…this is not a post about a break-up. There was no break-up. We were never officially anything more than just friends. Two people in two different places in our lives that just happened to spend a lot of time together. When that ended, I needed to find something to occupy my time and my thoughts. Dieting and working out seemed to be a pretty good distraction from my feelings (which I have a lot of…y’all already know this). I started hiking at Runyon Canyon. Something peaceful about the view up there. Since I wasn’t going out that much anymore, I didn’t need to be at the usual after-the-club eating spots (Denny’s, King Taco, etc.).

After a few months, people started to notice a little bit of a weight loss. I ran with that momentum and by the end of 2014, I lost almost 50lbs.

Some time in the last two years, I fell in love with myself. What started as a way to keep me from getting lost in my emotions turned into a journey towards self discovery. I became all the things I wanted in a person: passionate, driven and focused. My sense of self worth a lot higher than it was back then. All of a sudden, eating healthy and working out mean something more. Every chicken wing I say no to, every nacho I pass up, every swing, every squat, every second in plank is a tribute to what I’ve become. The level of commitment to get this far is the same level of commitment I can apply in relationships with my family, my friends, and one day someone special. Cheers to 2016! New year, better me. Ready for all of life’s (and love’s) possibilities.